Friday, January 29, 2016

Syrian Refugees Admitted into U.S. Since Paris Attacks: 525 Muslims, 1 Christian: Days after the November terror attacks in Paris last year, President Obama condemned the idea of allowing only Christians to come into the United States as part of his plan to accept Syrian refugees. He adamantly stated in no uncertain terms that a religious test would not be a part of the plan: 'We don't have religious tests to our compassion,' he said.

Clinton Campaign Running Out of Money?: It was a simple and fair question but it left a Clinton campaign spokesman scrambling for an answer. On left-wing cable news outlet MSNBC, host Andrea Mitchell wanted to know why Hillary Clinton was taking a break from campaigning in Iowa to raise money in Philadelphia. 'Why is she going east to raise money at this critical time?' Mitchell asked Clinton spox Brian Fallon. Mitchell went on to ask if the campaign needed extra money because the race looks to be lasting longer than Clinton expected.

Northeast Under Feet of Snow Despite NY Times Predicting 'End of Snow': In February of 2014, Powder magazine's editor, Peter Fox, wrote an op-ed for The New York Times warning that global warming was going to bring the 'end of snow' around the world. He pointed to the loss of Alpine glacial ice in Europe since the 1850s as the basis for his argument. 'If climate change is not reined in,' Fox wrote, 'two-­thirds of European ski resorts will be likely to close by 2100.'

Obama Releases Another Gitmo Prisoner -- This Time it's a Bomb Expert: Sixteen prisoners have been released from Guantanamo Bay since the beginning of the year as part of President Obama's promised Gitmo cleansing. But like so many others before, there is something interesting about one of the last two released: he was an expert bomb maker for Al Qaeda.

Free Beacon: It's Trump's Race to Lose: At the Washington Free Beacon, Matthew Continetti's take on the Fox Business debate is that the Republican primary is clearly 'Donald Trump’s race to lose.' Love him or hate him - and there doesn't seem to be anyone left in-between - Trump showed 'considerable political skills' in Thursday evening's debate, writes Continetti:

Friday, January 15, 2016

What Americans Believe About Sex: From "wardrobe malfunctions," to debates over yoga pants, America's relationship with sex is fraught with ambiguity. Barna asked Americans what they believe about the purpose of sex — and discovered no broadly shared consensus.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

It doesn't hurt that after serving 10 years in the Pennsylvania Legislature (a part-time job that pays a base salary of $85,000), politicians can collect a lifetime pension, courtesy of the taxpayers.

From WITF.com:

One legacy of Pennsylvania's 2015 budget gridlock may prove to be the
wave of retirement announcements from longtime state lawmakers. More
than a dozen House and Senate members are calling it quits, most of them
with more than a decade of service under their belts. Their reasons
vary.

Although Pennsylvania Democrats hold a voter registration advantage, Republican US Sen. Pat Toomey has a big lead in money going into the 2016 election season, not to mention disarray in the Democratic Party, where three candidates are battling for the nomination in the primary.Toomey heads into 2016 with $10M for Senate re-election bid

The five-term Pennsylvania state legislator resigned last month as chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee after his party's disastrous showing in the November General Election. (Republicans lost every countywide race.)

Now he's leaving the state House of Representatives, announcing Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to another term in Montgomery County's 150th House District, a very safe Republican district that he could have held for the next decade or more.

It's a dramatic about-face for what looked like a promising political career for the retired police officer.

Vereb issued the following press release today:

HARRISBURG — State
Rep. Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery) today announced he will not seek another
two-year term serving the residents of Pennsylvania’s 150th Legislative District.

“I can’t thank the residents of the 150th
District enough for trusting me with the opportunity to represent them
for a decade,” Vereb said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished.”

Vereb, currently
serving his fifth term, first took office as a state representative in
2007 amidst a wave of reform. He served on a bipartisan commission
established that year by the speaker of the House to bring transparency
and accountability to the institution’s procedures.

Vereb served two
terms as House Republican Caucus Secretary, a leadership position
earned when he was selected by his colleagues.

During his
tenure in the House, four bills Vereb introduced were signed into law.
When his sudden cardiac arrest prevention legislation was signed into
law in 2012, Vereb helped make Pennsylvania the first state in the
nation to pass a law protecting its student athletes from this threat.

Vereb sponsored a
law giving crime victims a voice in the parole process by allowing them
to be heard at parole hearings. Another law he introduced strengthened
penalties against coaches and other sports officials who sexually prey
on youth athletes.

Vereb also sponsored a law to protect crime victims and their families against re-victimization by their criminal aggressors.

Vereb also
served as co-chairman of the Basic Education Funding Commission, which
developed a fair and reasonable formula to distribute state education
dollars among Pennsylvania school districts. He serves as chairman of
the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Safety
and Security Committee, a voting member of the Pennsylvania Commission
on Crime and Delinquency and as chairman of the commission’s Criminal
Justice Advisory Committee.

Vereb helped
usher the Commonwealth’s recent transportation funding plan through the
state House and secured funding for several local bridge projects,
including the replacement of Betzwood Bridge.

“When my term
ends later this year, I’ll look forward to new opportunities and
challenges,” Vereb said. “I still have a year left to serve and I plan
to make it a good one.”

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Many registered Democrats in those
regions now self-identify as Republicans or Republican-leaning
independents. Trump has captivated these voters, resulting in his
commanding lead in the Republican field.

“In essence, Trump and the other
‘outsiders' haven't as much splintered the Republican Party but, rather,
have taken advantage of the splintering of the Democratic Party,”
Brauer said.

This could be good news for Republicans
and not-so-good news for Democrats. These mostly disgruntled voters are
turning away from their Democrat roots and are finding some solace with
Republican outsiders, which could add noteworthy numbers to the GOP
base.

We are seeing the end of the long, slow
exodus of citizens with traditional (as opposed to cosmopolitan) values
from Democrat ranks to the Republican Party.

What is overlooked is what it means for
today's politics, particularly at the coalitional level, Baylor
University political scientist Curt Nichols believes.

“The Democratic Party is predominantly
composed of folks holding cosmopolitan values, which includes a moral
preference for redistributive policies,” Nichols said — while
Republicans are the party of traditional values, including a moral
preference for rugged individualism and market-oriented policies.

If the Left had a religion (which of course they don't), their Bible would be a book by tactical guru Saul Alinsky entitled "Rules for Radicals." The original "community organizer," Alinsky's seminal work has been the "how to" guide for the extreme Left for several generations.

Using Alinsky's rules, liberals (now re-branded progressives) have generally out-maneuvered conservatives on the ideological battlefield. After an extended period of time conservatives have somewhat caught onto the Left's tactics, but still it would be helpful for the Right to have its own set of rules. This is difficult because unlike the Left, which moves in politically correct lockstep, conservatives actually think for themselves making unity more difficult. But, herewith I am willing to offer some suggested Rules for Conservatives:

Rule # 7: Talk about why we can win, not why we can't. As the current presidential campaign has unfolded conservatives have fallen into the mainstream media trap of talking about why their candidates cannot win. Trump can't win because he has a big mouth. Rubio can't win because he isn't sufficiently conservative. Cruz can't win because he is too conservative. Rather than focus on why each potential candidate can't win, talk about why he or she can win.

Rule # 6: Obey the "Buckley Rule." William F. Buckley, one of the founding fathers of modern day conservatism back in 1964 observed that we should support "the rightward most viable candidate." Conservatives love to stand on principle, and while we should never abandon our core beliefs, we must also take electability into account when deciding which candidate to support.

Rule # 5: Don't fight over minor policy differences. Especially in crowded primary fights candidates and their supporters tend to fixate on even the tiniest differences in policy positions. This causes voters' eyes to glaze over and worse obstructs their view of the big picture. Yes, at some point those minor differences will become important. But not until you actually win the election and are in a position of power.

Rule # 4: Accept partial victories. We all have a policy end game. But the political process generally unfolds in small steps not in big, bold moves. The Left understands this and is willing to accept a small victory then come back and fight for more. Conservatives demand all or nothing, and all too often end up with nothing. Remember, change is a marathon, not a sprint.

Rule # 3: Don't hold grudges. The old saying "friends are temporary, but enemies are forever" often applies to conservatives. Your competitor in this election cycle or on one policy fight just might be your ally in the next. Be willing to forgive because there aren't enough of us to be divided by past grievances.

Rule # 2: Be a happy warrior. Even when almost felled by a would-be assassin's bullet Ronald Reagan joked with doctors on his way into the operating room. We are not the dour old Left that sits around worried about the world vaporizing because of climate change. We live in the greatest nation known to man with freedoms granted to us by our Creator. This is a cause for celebration and joy. Act accordingly.

Rule # 1: Never give up. Yes, some of our candidates will lose and the Left will win more than their share of policy battles. But there is always another election and there will inevitably be a new policy battle. Ronald Reagan lost a string of early primaries in 1980 and was given up for politically dead. But he pushed through the defeats, eventually winning enough delegates to claim the nomination and ultimately the presidency. Ronald Reagan never gave up, and neither should we.

I’m sure you could probably add a few more rules of you own to this list, but as a new and pivotal year in American history is about to unfold we need to keep our goals in mind, focus on what is most important, and fight hard for freedom. After all, this gift called America is now in our possession and it is our duty to preserve, protect and defend what Abraham Lincoln called "the last best hope" of man on Earth.

Lowman S. Henry is chairman and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research in Harrisburg, and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His email address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org

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Why Politics Matter

“Politics, the crooked timber of our communal lives, dominates everything because, in the end, everything – high and low and, most especially, high – lives or dies by politics. You can have the most advanced and efflorescent of cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not ancient history. This is Germany 1933.” –– Charles Krauthammer

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About Me

Tony A. Phyrillas is a leading conservative columnist, commentator and blogger based in Pennsylvania.
A veteran newspaperman with 33 years experience as a reporter, editor, photographer and columnist, Phyrillas received a first place award in 2010 for best column from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors and a first place award in 2007 for Best Opinion Column from Suburban Newspapers of America. He was recognized for column writing in 2007 by the Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter and in 2006 by the SPJ Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
Phyrillas is ranked among the most influential political bloggers in Pennsylvania by BlogNetNews.com.
Odyssey: The World of Greece magazine named Phyrillas one of the leading Greek-American bloggers in the world.
A Penn State University graduate, Phyrillas is the editor/content manager of The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa.
Phyrillas made frequent appearances on talk radio and as a panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
He co-hosted a weekly radio program on WPAZ 1370 AM for 2 years.